Guts Over Glory ⇀ Harry Potter

[04]

IT WAS 11 MINUTES PASSED 4 AM WHEN LEER WILCOX'S OBSCENELY LOUD SNORING BECAME TOO MUCH TO BARE. Leer's habit of sounding like some sort of strangled pig during her sleep had been one of the many banes of Anex 'Light-Sleeper' Silvertongue's school life and was the cause of many sleepless nights and disgruntled mornings.

While Anex knew perfectly well she could learn how to cast a silencing charm on Leer's vocal chords there was the worry that she wouldn't have the restraint to ever remove it. The idea of a permanently silent Leer was a very promising one.

Anex, on more occasion than one, had considered doing it the 'muggle-way' and simply taking a pillow and smothering her. But while that would definitely solve the snoring problem, it would also bring on the issue of stopping Leer's breathing altogether. And while Hogwarts was quite a liberal institution in some areas, its rules did no approve of student-on-student murder. It actually was quite frowned upon, if you could believe.

So instead of committing first-degree murder, Anex resorted to using the power of sheer mental will and deadly glares in hopes that they would miraculously cause her roommate to fall silent. But after seven minutes with no results but a throbbing in her temples from concentration and a blunt dryness in her eyes from the intensity of her unblinking stares, Leer remained sleeping with an ever so content look on her face.

In defeat, Anex threw the feathery covers from her body and made sure to take as much time as she possibly could to get ready. But despite how deliberate Anex made sure each of her movements were as she went about bathing, dressing and even did an overly intricate braided hairstyle on the top set of her hair manually instead of using a spell, getting ready still only took Anex a little over an over. Breakfast was nowhere in sight and Anex wanted nothing more than a burnt brown cup of coffee to soothe all her ailments, but alas she was not as skilled in the Summoning Charm as she was with others.

As she crossed through the abandoned Common Room, Anex assessed her options. Sneaking out of the castle in the early morning was much easier than it was at night. Even with all the extra precautions -Dementors- Anex doubted that she would be stopped from having a lengthy stroll through the grounds before breakfast to work off her sleepless frustration. But she had to make the decision as to if she was going to first make her way to the Kitchens and get one of the eager house-elves to whip her up a cup of coffee or if she was just going to go straight outside.

But by the time Anex made it out of the Dungeons, she had lost all enthusiasm to cross the castle and go to the kitchens. So instead she went straight outside, making no rustle whatsoever as she made her way in the direction one of the few secret exits she was aware of. Poseidon found her when she was half-way out of the castle and was surprisingly affectionate as he rubbed himself up against her.

The dim sunlight that usually inhabited the Scottish sky over Hogwarts had only just begun to make an appearance from behind the foamy, thick nighttime clouds and it cast a dull glow over the grounds. There was barely any noise except for those you paid close attention to. Like the faint wind that rustled the trees and the chirping of early-birds who had only just begun to rustle their feathers.

The black-and-white cat had begun to become slightly agitated by the lack of attention Anex was currently giving him as she took a moment of clarity and had started to weave in between her legs. Anex couldn't help but roll her eyes but her lips twitched anyways and she crouched down to give him a light scratch behind his perked ears. It sedated him to point and he seemed content as he let out a pleased purr. Suddenly there was something else furry bumping against her her side and Anex glanced over to see the flat, expectant looking face of Hermione Granger's burnt orange cat. It meowed at her and nudged the hand that wasn't currently petting Poseidon.